Police: Guns Stolen From Favorite Shop

Man In Weapons Case Worked At Store

June 15, 2007|By DAVID OWENS; Courant Staff Writer

A Somers man arrested on 28 counts of first-degree larceny and firearm theft pilfered those weapons from a gun shop where he would occasionally help out, according to the search warrant investigators drafted before entering Brian H. McClelland's home.

McClelland, 63, of 159 Mountain View Road, was released on $1 million bail and is due in Superior Court in Rockville on June 26 for arraignment.

State police began looking at McClelland in early May after a trooper in the department's special licenses and firearms unit noticed that McClelland ``had been purchasing an exorbitant number of guns in the [past] 17 months,'' the affidavit accompanying the search warrant says. From Dec. 28, 2005, to May 31, 2007, McClelland had bought 537 guns from the same gun shop, Riverview Sales of East Windsor. Of those guns, 281 were handguns and 256 were long guns. All were purchased legally, police said, and none had been reported stolen.

Still, the sheer volume of gun purchases raised eyebrows with state police.

In early June, the owner of Riverview Sales, David E. Laguercia, contacted the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives to report that his business was missing 33 guns and that he had recorded video of a store assistant stealing at least two guns, as well as some other items. That assistant, according to the warrant, was McClelland.

Laguercia said Thursday that McClelland had become a good customer of Riverview Sales, even a friend.

``He seemed to be a down-to-earth kind of guy,'' Laguercia said. McClelland was a high-volume buyer, Laguercia said, and was purchasing the guns for his collection. ``He didn't have any specific interest,'' Laguercia said. ``He was a collector, and he was enhancing his collection. Naturally, every once in a while a company would come out with a limited production run and he'd want one of them.''

Laguercia said he noticed shortly after moving his store from Enfield to East Windsor that the inventory in some areas seemed ``light or missing,'' according to the affidavit.

Laguercia said he began to suspect McClelland was stealing items but lacked proof. He checked the store's security videos and saw McClelland take a handgun and walk out of the store, then return empty-handed. The incident occurred while McClelland was alone in the store, according to the warrant.

At that point, Laguercia closed the store for a few days to inventory its stock. He told McClelland he was closing the store so he could visit and care for a sick parent.

During that inventory, Laguercia determined that 33 guns -- 32 hand guns and a rifle -- were missing. That's when he contacted federal authorities, according to the affidavit.

It was those 33 guns police were looking for when they searched McClelland's home June 8 and 9. Police say 28 stolen weapons were among the 601 guns seized at his house. There is no suggestion in the arrest warrant affidavit that the other guns in McClelland's collection were stolen.

McClelland, who could not be reached for comment, appeared to be in solid financial shape, Laguercia said. Laguercia said he couldn't understand why McClelland would steal the guns.